Eric Berthel (born March 28, 1967) is an American politician and a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Connecticut Senate The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Sen ...

, representing the 32nd District since 2017. Berthel has been the State Senator for the 32nd Senate District since 2017, representing part of the

Naugatuck River Valley The Naugatuck River Valley is the watershed area of the Naugatuck River in the western part of Connecticut. The Naugatuck Valley straddles parts of Litchfield County, New Haven, and Fairfield counties. The Route 8 corridor and Waterbury Branch ...

and

Litchfield County Litchfield County is in northwestern Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 185,186. The county was named after Lichfield, in England. Litchfield County has the lowest population density of any county in Connecticut and is the ...

in the Connecticut Senate, including the towns of

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

, Bridgewater, Middlebury (part),

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, Roxbury, Seymour (part), Southbury,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Watertown Watertown may refer to: Places in China In China, a water town is a type of ancient scenic town known for its waterways. Places in the United States *Watertown, Connecticut, a New England town **Watertown (CDP), Connecticut, the central village ...

, and Woodbury. Berthel considered a run for the open congressional seat in

Connecticut's 5th congressional district Connecticut's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in the western part of the state and spanning across parts of Fairfield, Litchfield, New Haven, and Hartford Counties, the distric ...

in 2018, but ultimately decided not to run, instead seeking reelection to the state Senate. In September 2020, Berthel's car was photographed with a window sticker supporting

QAnon QAnon ( , ) is an American political conspiracy theory and political movement. It originated in the American far-right political sphere in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q". ...

, a right-wing movement promoting baseless conspiracy theories. After the sticker came to attention on social media, Berthel initially defended the QAnon conspiracy theory by contending that it has "inspired more people to participate in policy and government."Jeff Cohen
After Social Media Post Raises Questions, GOP State Senator Defends QAnon Conspiracy Theory
WNPR (September 11, 2020). Later that month, Berthel apologized, saying, "My failure to look into the movement more deeply, which I take full responsibility for, led me to overlook the extreme views of the movement which I don’t subscribe to and find abhorrent. It was my lack of fully understanding this movement that led me to put these words on my car for which I deeply regret." Berthel's Democratic opponent Jeff Desmarais called Berthel's conduct "disqualifying" but Berthel nevertheless won a third term in the November 2020 election. Berthel has introduced legislation calling for the reintroduction of

bear hunting Bear hunting is the act of hunting bears. Bears have been hunted since prehistoric times for their meat and fur. In addition to being a source of food, in modern times they have been favoured by big game hunters due to their size and ferocity. B ...

in Connecticut.Liz Teitz
A fight over bear hunting is on, spurred by a hiker's run-in
''Middletown Press'' (Oct. 1, 2019).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berthel, Eric 1967 births American conspiracy theorists Living people People from Watertown, Connecticut Manhattanville University alumni University of Bridgeport alumni Republican Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Republican Party Connecticut state senators 21st-century American legislators 21st-century Connecticut politicians